The New York University women's cross country team took second place at the NCAA Division III Niagara Regional Championship in Houghton, NY, on Saturday, November 11, putting the Violets in position to advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship next week.

The Violets entered Saturday's race ranked #1 nationally and #1 in the Niagara Region, and are one of the top contenders for a national title.

In a strategic race, the Violets took second with 53 points, 33 points behind champions SUNY Geneseo, who are ranked #2 in the region. RIT took a distant third, 100 points behind the Violets. 

The Violets practiced their pack running for the NCAA National Championship, with the top four runners finishing consecutively in sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth place.

With the order of the pack being less consequential, freshman Morgan Uhlhorn finished in sixth place in 21:47.6, followed by graduate student Grace Richardson and sophomore Viv Kane, who crossed the line in times of 21:47.7 and 21:47.8, respectively.

Graduate student Katherine Cochran finished with them in 21:48.4, taking ninth in the race.

Freshman Olivia Jackson finished fifth for the Violets, crossing the line in 22:28.9 for 23rd place. Freshman Virginia Nelson rounded out the racers, finishing the 6k course in 22:43.3 for 34th place.

Demonstrating the depth of the team, all racers finished among the top-34 spots in the 20-team, 145-person race.

"The women ran well together packed up on a fast course. We are looking forward to racing next weekend, if selected," said Head Coach Tyler Deck Shipley.

The Violets will have now qualified for the NCAA Championship for two years in a row, after they were selected at-large for Nationals last year with another second-place finish at the Niagara Regionals.

The NCAA Championship at-large qualifying teams will be announced on Sunday.

The Violets will potentially toe the line at the NCAA National Championship in Newville, PA, on Saturday, November 18.